This Week in Houston Food Events: Houston Restaurant Weeks Begins

It's time for Houston Restaurant Weeks at top Houston restaurants, including Amalfi Ristorante Italiano, whose special offerings include this blue fin tartar with tomatoes, basil, shallots and micro greens.

When you spend $35 at Cuchara, 214 Fairview, this month, the restaurant will donate $5 to a featured charity or public institution. This week's featured group is the Buffalo Bayou Partnership, which seeks to revitalize and transform Buffalo Bayou through bike trails, natural landscaping, parks and other amenities. Next week, Cuchara will give $5 of every $35 spent to the Rothko Chapel.

New York Deli Month

Houston's own New York deli, Kenny & Ziggy's, will offer a prix fixe menu all month long at both locations to benefit the Jerome Robinson Family Young Adult Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. The meal is $37 and includes matzo ball soup, goulash on a bed of noodles, carrot soufflé and rugelach.

This month's Taco of the Month at Berryhill Baja Grill is the chipotle shrimp taco, which has chargrilled shrimp, crushed avocado, chipotle aioli, red cabbage, pice de gallo, cilantro and cotija cheese loaded onto a flour tortilla. You can find it at most Berryhill locations for just $4.50 all month.

Karbach Brews Cruise

This brews cruise is all about two things: beer and bikes. It kicks off at 6 p.m. at Flying Saucer, 705 Main, where one lucky attendee will win a brand new bike. You can get one raffle ticket for every Station 68 Pale Ale you buy, and, of course, the bicycle is Station 68-themed, too. At about 7 p.m., the brews cruise will bike over to Ritual, where Karbach is the featured brewery of the month, and the last stop on the ride is the brewery itself.

Riesling Refresh at Spec's

Join fine wine buyer Bear Dalton of Spec's for this riesling-centric class at 7 p.m. at L'Alliance Française, 427 Lovett. Attendees will sample over a dozen German rieslings, as well as learn about the grape, where it grows, how the wine is made and how best to pair it. The class costs $60 per person and includes bread and cheese to accompany the wines. Call 713-854-7855 to reserve your spot.

Tuesday, August 2

Cold Fried Chicken Picnic at Revival

Ever since a time when Eight Row Flint's culinary director Vincent Huynh greeted his friend and sous chef Marcelo Garcia by floating around in his pool with a bucket of cold fried chicken after Garcia was late for a grilling hang-out, the friends have laughed about and enjoyed plenty of cold fried chicken. They want to share their laughs, chicken and a boozy version of Big Red soda with you during this edition of Agricole Hospitality's summer outdoor cooking series. The food and drink starts at 5 p.m. at the icehouse, 1039 Yale, and will go until it's gone.

Shrimp-sational Cooking Class

Attendees will learn all about shrimp and how to cook it perfectly during this 6:30 p.m. class at Central Market's Cooking School, located in the store at 3815 Westheimer. The menu for the class includes shrimp gazpacho with basil croutons, ginger apricot shrimp and giant shrimp in a masa herb crust. It's $65 per person, and you can book your spot on the Central Market website.

Free Bandol Wine Tasting

Bandol Wines will host this 7 p.m. tasting at Rouge Wine Bar, 1400 Eldridge Parkway, that features two reds, two whites and two rosés. The tasting is free and accompanied by cheese, and the wines will be available for retail purchase at special discounts.

Are you obsessed with all things Olympian? Check out this week's wine tasting at French Country Wines, which features gold- and silver-medal-winning wines.

Photo courtesy of French Country Wines

Wednesday, August 3

Sundown at The Grove : Belgium Night

Each Wednesday this summer, The Grove, 1611 Lamar, will feature beers from craft breweries alongside food pairings by chef de cuisine Ryan Williams. This week features all Belgian beers. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online or at the door. Season passes are also available for $250 per person or $450 per couple. The party runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Uchi's Road to Oktoberfest Beer Dinner

The second installment of this three-part beer dinner series is tonight at 6 p.m. at Uchi, 904 Westheimer. The featured brewery is 8th Wonder, and representatives will be on hand to discuss each of the beers. Chef de cuisine Lance Gillum will also be at the dinner to discuss how he created each course with the beer in mind. Reservations are $85 and can be secured via email.

A Stroll Through the Fertile Crescent

Cooking school instructor Kody McHenry will teach this 6:30 p.m. class at Central Market, 3815 Westheimer, that will focus on the fare of the fertile crescent, which includes western Asia, the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta. The dishes attendees will make include roasted pumpkin hummus, barbecued squab and walnut baklava. Reservations are $60 per person and can be made on the Central Market website.

Thursday, August 4

IPA Day at Flying Saucer

Celebrate the India pale ale at Flying Saucer, 705 Main, all day long with $3, specially-tapped IPA's and $9 flights of IPA's made by Founders Brewing Company, including Devil Dancer, Centennial, All Day, Redankulous and Mosaic Promise.

Friday, August 5

Lobster Friday at Bernie's

Head to either location of Bernie's Burger Bus for lobster Friday, which means you can enjoy poached lobster rolls and lobster poutine with local cheese curds, lobster demi glacé and chopped scallions. Show up early if you're set on the lobster, because when it's gone, it's gone.

Friday and Saturday

A Midsummer Night's Bling at Prohibition Supperclub

On Fridays and Saturdays from now through September 24, you can find Terrible Enfants Theatre Co. and the Moonlight Dolls Burlesque Revue at Prohibition Supperclub and Bar, 1008 Prairie, for a glitzy variety show featuring singers, dancers and aerialists. The show is accompanied by a three-course prix fixe meal, which costs $45. Show tickets cost $22 to $65, and the performances are on Fridays at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., as well as Saturdays at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Saturday, August 6

Olympic Wine Tasting

This week's free wine tasting at French Country Wines, 2433 Bartlett, focuses on Olympic-worthy wines; wines, that is, that have won gold or silver medals at major wine competitions around the world. You can sample them anytime from noon to 6 p.m. at the wine shop, and the featured wines will be available for purchase.

Pig Roast and Luau

Join Kona Brewing Co. at Kirby Ice House, 3333 Eastside, for a Hawaiian-style pig roast, courtesy of the team from Pitmaker, as well as Kona brews, hula dancers and a raffle for a beach cruiser bike, longboard surfboard, longboard skateboard and more. The party starts at 1 p.m. and goes till 7 p.m., while food service starts at 3 p.m. Tickets are $20, and don't forget that Kirby Ice House is strictly 23-and-up.

White Linen Night in The Heights

It's time for the tenth annual White Linen Night in The Heights, which showcases local artists and vendors, plus plenty of delicious sidewalk stands from popular neighborhood food joints from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the 200 and 300 blocks of 19th. For example, Sonoma Wine Bar at 801 Studewood will break out its sangria and beer stand, with watermelon-blackberry sparkling sangria for $6 and baked artichoke dip with a baguette for $2. Don't forget to wear your finest white linen apparel!

Sunday, August 7

Poke Pop-Up at Lincoln Bar

Due to popular demand, Lincoln Bar at 5110 Washington is hosting another poke pop-up in conjunction with Poke Akua that features a whole new menu. It starts at 11 a.m. and goes all day. The fare includes grilled spam musubi, bluefin tuna poke bowls and coconut butter mochi cake with lemongrass ice cream, candied seaweed and rum sauce. Check out the whole menu on the Facebook event.